Internet Safety:
Over the past few years Internet blog sites have become increasingly popular. These sites are a very popular way for individuals to create a profile to share with the world wide web. Some of the popular sites that our students are using currently are myspace, facebook, and xanga. Myspace tends to be the most popular site used. Myspace is a public / private site depending on how you have your profile has been created. The greater percentage of students have public sites very few have private.
Blogsites, P2P File Sharing, Instant Messaging, IRC, and Chat Rooms
Blogsites
Public Vs Private
Public Sites are open for everyone to see. You do not need a user account to view the main page of a users profile. You can quickly search for a user by using the search feature at the myspace homepage by typing in the name you are looking for. Without a user account you can still view the users profile, friends list, and comments that have been left by friends of the user.
Private Sites are the best way to go. Users can keep their site private from public users view. When a site is private you have to request that the user adds you as friend in order to see their user profile.
Here are some helpful links that will provide some safety tips for parents and students.
Eight Steps to Parental Success By MICHAEL THOMPSON
P2P File Sharing
Peer to peer file sharing (P2P) is a way for people to share files between one another. This is commonly done via the Internet running client software that will allow users to attach to multiple computers in order to increase the download speed of a particular file. P2P File sharing is generally used for downloading of movies and music.
Limewire, Bearshare, Morpheus,WinMx, Kazaa, IMesh
P2P file sharing has many drawbacks and hidden dangers. Most applications come with spyware or adware applications that are installed along with them. This may allow unwanted access to your computer and personal information. The use of these programs may create security holes within your computer, make you more likely to receive viruses, trojans, and worms, cause harm to your computer operating system, and they are generally used to illegally download copyrighted material. Solutions to the use of P2P file sharing would be the use of Apple Itunes, MSN Music, Walmart Music, and URGE
Instant Messaging, Chat Rooms, Irc
Learn how to help keep your children safe on the Internet with this resource
Instant Messaging and Chat rooms have become very useful tools for communication. As useful as these tools are it is important to understand how these tools work and understand the language that is often used by the users.
Instant Messaging is the safest form of communication. Users create buddy or friend list and communicate with each other on a one on one basis or with some chat clients they can create group chat sessions.
Chat rooms are rooms where users can go and chat with random people. Rooms are often setup based on interest in certain topics. This is a good place for users to discuss their interest but this is also done often with people they do not know and should be done with caution.
Here is a link to information on the type of lingo that is commonly used in chat rooms and instant messaging.
http://www.netlingo.com
Important District Links:
Progressbook is a new gradebook package Jennings Local Schools is currently using. This software package allows us to provide parents with an updated view of their son/daughters progress in each of their individual classes.